Lecture 3: The Basic Unit of Life

Cell size is limited by the surface area-to-volume ratio

Most cells are tiny, with diameters in the range of 1 to 100 m. The surface of a cell is the area that interfaces with the cells environment. The larger the surface area of a cell, the faster a cell can take in substances and remove waste products. The volume of a cell is a measure of the space inside a cell. The larger the volume of a cell, the more chemical activity it can have. Surface area-to-volume ratio is defined as the surface area divided by the volume. For any given shape, increasing volume decreases the surface area-to-volume ratio. Shape also influences surface area-to-volume ratios. A sphere has the least surface area-to-volume ratio of any shape. Imagine you have a lump of clay. Fashioning it into a sphere minimizes the surface area. If you flatten the ball of clay to make a pancake shape, the surface area increases, while the volume remains the same. Cells such as red blood cells flatten into a pancake shape to increase surface area. Fashioning the clay into a thin string also increases the surface area without increasing the volume. If the clay is spherical but the surface is irregular with many fine projections coming off the surface, surface area is greatly increased. In epithelial cells, such projections are called microvilli.

Cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane

Every cell has a plasma membrane, a continuous membrane that surrounds the fluids and other structures of a cell. The membrane is composed of a lipid bilayer with proteins floating within it and protruding from it. The plasma membrane acts as a selectively permeable barrier. The plasma membrane is an interface for cells where information is received from adjacent cells and extracellular signals. The membranes allow the cell to maintain a rather constant internal environment as well as separate and distinct chemical and structural environments.

Prokaryotic Cells
Prokaryotic cells share certain features
All have a plasma membrane. All have a region called the nucleoid where the DNA is concentrated. The cytoplasm (the plasma membrane-enclosed region) consists of the nucleoid, ribosomes (the molecular protein synthesis machines), and a liquid portion called the cytosol.

Some prokaryotic cells have specialized features

Most prokaryotic cells have a cell wall just outside the plasma membrane. The cell wall functions to prevent plasma membrane lysis (bursting) when cells are exposed to solutions with lower solute concentrations than the cell interior. It also protects the membrane. Some bacteria, including cyanobacteria, can carry on photosynthesis; that is, they have the ability to collect solar energy. Cyanobacteria have chlorophyll in the infolded plasma membrane for this purpose. In eukaryotes, separate organelles have specialized membranes for this process. Some bacteria have flagella, locomotary structures shaped like a corkscrew. They spin like a propeller to move the bacteria. The flagella bear no structural similarity to the flagella found in eukaryotic cells, such as sperm cells. Some bacteria have pili, threadlike structures that help bacteria adhere to one another during mating or to other cells for food and protection.

Eukaryotic Cells
Animals, plants, fungi, and protists have a membrane-bounded nucleus in each of their cells and are classified as eukaryotes. Eukaryotic cells tend to be larger than prokaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells have a variety of membrane-bounded compartments called organelles. Eukaryotes have a protein scaffolding called the cytoskeleton, which provides shape and structure to cells, among other functions.

Compartmentalization is the key to eukaryotic cell function

The nucleus contains most of the cells genetic material (DNA). The mitochondrion is a power plant and industrial park for the storage and conversion of energy. The endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus make up a compartment where proteins are packaged and sent to appropriate locations in the cell. The lysosome and vacuole are cellular digestive systems where large molecules are hydrolyzed into usable monomers. The chloroplast performs photosynthesis. Membranes surrounding these organelles keep away inappropriate molecules that might disturb organelle function. They also act as traffic regulators for raw materials into and out of the organelle.

Organelles that Process Information

The nucleus contains most of the cells DNA
The nucleus, usually the largest organelle in a cell, is the site of DNA duplication to support cell reproduction. Within the nucleus is a specialized, non-membrane-bounded region called the nucleolus, where ribosomes, the molecular protein synthesis machinery, are initially assembled. Two lipid bilayers form the nuclear envelope. The nuclear envelope is perforated with nuclear pores. At certain sites the nuclear envelope is continuous with another organelle, the endoplasmic reticulum. Molecules that are small can enter and leave the nucleus by simple diffusion, but traffic of large molecules is regulated. The chromatin consists of diffuse or very long, thin fibers in which DNA is bound to proteins. Prior to cell division these condense and organize into structures recognized as chromosomes.

Ribosomes are the sites of protein synthesis

In eukaryotes, functional ribosomes are found free in the cytoplasm, in mitochondria, bound to the endoplasmic reticulum, and in chloroplasts. Ribosomes are the sites of protein synthesis. They consist of a certain type of RNA, called ribosomal RNA, and more than 50 other proteins.

The Endomembrane System

The membrane of eukaryotic cells is synthesized by the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). There are continuities between this membrane and the nuclear envelope, as well as connections via small vesicles to the Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, and plasma membrane.

The endoplasmic reticulum is a complex factory

The ER is a network of interconnecting membranes distributed throughout the cytoplasm. The internal compartment, called the lumen, is a separate part of the cell with a distinct protein and ion composition. The ERs folding generates a surface area much greater than that of the plasma membrane. The rough ER (RER) has ribosomes attached, which actively synthesize proteins destined for the ER interior or incorporation into the membrane of the ER. Some of these membrane and lumen proteins stay with the ER, some are transported to other points of the endomembrane system. Some of the proteins that enter the lumen or face the lumen interior get folded, shaped by disulfide bridges, or get carbohydrate groups added.

Some of the proteins that enter the ER have address information, which determines their final destination. By default, those with no address information are transported out of the cell. There is a ribosome-free region of the ER called the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER). The SER of liver cells is the site for the synthesis and hydrolysis of glycogen. SER of the liver is also the site for drug detoxification (including alcohol) and cholesterol and steroid synthesis. Cells that are specialized for synthesizing proteins for extracellular export have extensive endomembrane systems.

The Golgi apparatus stores, modifies, and packages proteins

The Golgi receives its lipid membrane from vesicles that bud off the ER. Proteins are carried within them. In vertebrates, the Golgi is stacked like pancakes. The compartment closest to the nucleus is called the cis region. The middle compartment is the medial region. The compartment closest to the plasma membrane is the trans region. These three parts have different functions and different associated enzymes. Vesicles from the ER fuse to the cis region. Vesicles from the cis compartment move to the next compartment, the medial region, and then to the trans compartment. Modifications and sorting occur during this process. Chemical signals inform the system about the appropriate destinations for the products.

Lysosomes contain digestive enzymes

Lysosomes are organelles that come in part from the Golgi. The Golgi creates primary lysosomes, vesicles containing digestive enzymes. Food and foreign objects are brought into the cytoplasm through a process called phagocytosis. The resulting phagosomes are vesicles that contain the foreign material. Primary lysosomes created by the Golgi fuse with phagosomes to create secondary lysosomes. Within the secondary lysosomes, the digestive enzymes hydrolyze macromolecules such as nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and polysaccharides into monomers. These small molecules diffuse through the lysosomes membrane into the cytoplasm. The remaining undigested material is expelled from the cell when the used secondary lysosome fuses with the plasma membrane and releases the undigested contents. Cells can take up large molecules and sometimes whole cells in a process called endocytosis. There are three different types of endocytosis. In phagocytosis (cell eating), the cell envelops another cell with its own membrane as it invaginates around it. Not all cells can do this, but it is very common among protists. Pinocytosis (cell drinking) is a means of fluid uptake. In receptor-mediated endocytosis, the vesicles are small, but cell surface receptors are involved. Cells may also give up water, wastes, and manufactured products (such as hormones) by a process called exocytosis.

Organelles that Process Energy

Mitochondria are energy transformers
The primary function of mitochondria is to convert the potential energy of fuel molecules into a form that the cell can use. Mitochondria have an outer lipid bilayer and a highly folded inner membrane. The space between the outer and inner membrane is called the intermembrane space. Mitochondria have a small amount of DNA and some ribosomes located within this matrix. The inner deeply-folded membrane has embedded proteins, which are important to the functioning of the organelle. The folding gives this membrane a greater surface area on which chemical reactions can occur.

 Mitochondria use simple energy molecules and oxygen to generate ATP from ADP. Most of the oxygen taken in by eukaryotic organisms is used directly by mitochondria.

Plastids photosynthesize or store materials

Chloroplasts, the sites where photosynthesis (conversion of light energy to chemical energy) occurs, are one type of plastid. The chloroplast has the following structure: An outer lipid bilayer; and an inner membrane. As with mitochondria, the space between these is the intermembrane space. Next is the stroma, which is the fluid-filled area of the inner membrane. Inside the stroma are the membrane-bounded thylakoids. This is where chlorophyll and other pigments for photosynthesis are embedded. Chloroplasts have a small amount of DNA and some ribosomes in the stroma.

Endosymbiosis may explain the origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts

According to the endosymbosis theory, both organelles were formerly prokaryotic organisms that somehow became incorporated into a larger cell. This structure provided benefits for both partners, and a symbiotic system evolved. Today, both mitochondria and chloroplasts are self-duplicating organelles. In chloroplasts and mitochondria, the DNA, ribosomes, and gene reproduction on the organelle level all seem to resemble those of prokaryotes.

The Cytoskeleton
Microfilaments function in support and movement
Microfilaments may exist as single filaments, in bundles, or in networks. A single strand of actin polymer interacts with another to create a double helical microfilament. Microfilaments are needed for cell contraction, as in muscle cells. Microfilaments add structure to the plasma membrane and shape to cells. They are involved in the flowing movement of cell fluids bearing specific organelles and proteins, a process called cytoplasmic streaming. They also are involved in the formation of pseudopodia, cellular extensions seen in the amoeboid protists and human white blood cells.

Intermediate filaments are tough supporting elements

These fibrous keratin proteins interact with each other and with other cellular components, particularly those of cell adhesion molecules. They have two major structural functions: They stabilize the cell structure, and they resist tension.

Microtubules are long and hollow

Microtubules provide a rigid intracellular skeleton for some cells, and they function as tracks that motor proteins can move along in the cell. Made from tubulin protein subunits, they regularly form and disassemble as the needs of the cell change.

Microtubules power cilia and flagella

Microtubules are structurally essential parts of cilia and flagella, common locomotary appendages of cells. The microtubules in cilia and flagella are arranged in a 9 + 2 array. Centrioles are found in an organizing center near the cell nucleus. The microtubules that radiate from centrioles help in the movement of chromosomes during cell division. The microtubules also provide tracks for intracellular molecular trafficking and help maintain the positions of certain organelles within the cell. Most eukaryotic cells have centrioles; exceptions are flowering plants, pine trees and their relatives, and some protists.

Motor proteins move along microtubules

In both cilia and flagella, the microtubules are cross-linked by spokes of protein. Dynein is a motor protein that drives the cross-linked microtubule pairs past each other, resulting in the bending movement of cilia and flagella. Dynein changes its shape when energy is released from ATP. Many dynein molecules associate along the length of the microtubule pair. Both the plasma membrane and other protein components limit the amount of dynein that can move along the microtubule, so the dynein spokes regulate the amount of cilia or flagella bending. Dynein moves vesicles toward the minus end of the microtubule. Kinesin, another motor protein, moves them toward the plus end.